Method for tunneling through rocks.



No. 40,307. PATENTED JANfl, 1907.

P. FORD. METHOD FOR TUNNELING THROUGH ROCKS.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 30.26.1905. s ssss Ts 1.

PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907. P.PORD. METHOD FOR TUNNELING THROUGH ROCKS.

l .6 6 a E Z declare that the following is a full, clear, and

debris or muck to continue night and day construct the tunnel as to utilize. the force of 50.

' forced to work in a Confined space, usually .another, and the best that can be accom crews of both kinds cannot be workedsithat t 1e work of one crew can never'inter- UN TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PATRICK FORD, OF oHio eo. ILLINOIS.

METHOD FOR TUINNELIYNIGITHROUGH Rocks.

To all. whom it may concern.- Be it known that I, PATRICK FORD, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods for Tunneling Through Rocks; and I do hereby with insufficient ventilation. Furthermore, in tunnels constructed in this manner it has been impossible to operate thecrews to the best advantage, as the muckers or those working to remove the material loosened by the previous blasts cannot Work during blasting and cannot resume work until thebreast ,or heading has been cleared of smokeand gas. In this way one crew is always in the-way of plishe'd is either to' Work the crews alternately in shifts or to work the drillers and powder-men at night and the muckers or those removing material by day, and as multaneou'isly and night and day'the constructiofi is slow and necessarily expensive.

The object of my improved method is to enable rockftunnels to be constructedyery rapidl and'acheaply and in such a manner fere with that of another, thus enabling the drilling and blasting and the removal'of the Without interruption.

It' is a further object of my invention to so gravity as far as possible in 'economizing the labor in all respects and the explosives employed and to afford ultimately a natural draft, whereby the tunnel is at' all times rendered clear from smoke and gas, enabling the operations of'drilling, blasting, and removing the muck to continue Without cessa Specification of LettersPatent. Application filed December 26, 1905. Serial No. 293,432.

Patented Jan. 1, 1907.

tion, so far as interference of the work of one crew with that of another is concerned.

It is also an object of my invention to provide an improved method for blasting out and constructing an under heading at the bottom of the tunnel, whereby the maximum efficiency of each shot is secured.

The invention consists-in the matters hereinafter described, and more fully pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

- In the drawin s, Figure 1 is av longitudinal central section'i lustrating the construction of a tunnel by my improved method. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the opposite end of the tunnel. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the tunnel under construction and illustrates a convenient arrangement of the drill-holes to secure maximum xefliciency at each shot) Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section the drill-holes in the roof. elevation or fragmentary section, showing in front elevation the arran ement of the drillholes in blasting out t e under heading.

thereof, showing the forward inclination of 1 Fig. 5 is a front Fig. 6 is'a section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7 7 of Fig. 5.

. As shown in said drawings, A indicates the rock to be excavated at the heading, and B the material to be cast down from the roof after the heading is completed. In the construction of the tunnel an under heading is first constructed with its bottom or floor slightly below the grade of the tunnel and usually for the entire length and 'width of the tunnel and for a height suflicient to enable the workmen to work' to an advanta e t6" complete the tunnel. 'Usually the hei t of the under heading is about nine feet, t ough this of course may vary.

In constructing the heading the rock is ally three holes (depen out on the nature of the rock) and indicated by C C" C C (1 ,0 aredrilled on each side of the centerand, as shown, approximately one-half the distance between the center and the rib or side of the tunnel and one above the other.

all conver e inwardly and incline downwardly at t eir inner ends or, in other words, are wet holes, and the lowermost holesC C at the inner ends somowhatbelow the grade of the tunnel. Between the drill-holes thus formed are drilled other holes approximately half the distance'be tweenlthe same and the rib or wall of the tunnel, andthese also condrilled to the desired (16 th, as follows: U811 IuO } The holes C 'to C inclusive, as shown in dotted lines,

IIO

verge inwardly, though at a much less angle I tudinally of the tunnel, a distance apart dcthan the holes before described, as shown in Fig. 6, and said holes (indicated by D to D inclusive) are arranged staggering with the holes C to C inclusive. Eight holes, four on each side, are next drilled along the ribs or sides of the tunnel, (indicated by E to E All of these holes, as shown, extend inwardly parallel with and approximately at the rib-line of the tunnel, and, as shown, the three lower holes on each side of the tunnel are wet holes or inclined downwardly, as shown in Fig. 7 and in dotted lines in Fig. 5, the lowermost dipping below the grade-line, while the upper holesnamely, E Eare dry holes and incline upwardly at their inner ends proximately to or above the roof-line of the eading.

At the top of the heading and, as shown,- arranged staggering with the holes at the ribs and those intermediate the rib and the center are fo r dry roof-holes F to F which incline upwa dly above the roof-line of the heading.

Of course the number of holes required in each set of holes may vary somewhat with the nature of the rock, as will also the blasting charge.

11 blasting the shots are first tired simultaneously in the central holes C to C inclusive, thus drawing forward and outwardly the wedge-sha ed mass included between said holes, whic i of course is completely shattered by the discharge. The holes D to D inclusive, are next shot, then the rib-holes E to E inclusive, after which the roof is shot down. Inasmuch as the holes E and FF, C and C incline downwardly below the gradeline, the heading is always constructed with its bottom slightly below grade, and owing to' the converging and downward arrangement of the central intermediate and rib holes the "outward downward force of the powder acts to break the rock into small pieces.

After constructing the heading for the entire len th of the tunnel or to an air-shaft and slig itly below the grade thework of re- -moving the material above the heading,

which constitutes the major portion of the material to be handled, is commenced, referably, at both ends of the tunnel, an for this purpose, referring to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive,the drill-columns X are arranged on the floor of the heading to provide drill-holes which incline forwardly at the top or toward the completed portion of the tunnel at an angle usually about twenty-two and one-half de' ees and which, as shown, are arranged re atively of each other, as indicated in Fig. 3namely, a line of drill-holes G and G are provided on each side of the center and approximately at their lower end half the distance between the center of the ribs or walls and converge upwardly until the inner ends thereof are close together and slightly above the roof-line. These holes are placed longi pending upon the nature of the material to be operated upon and the condition and nature of the rock. Between said central holes and the ribs are provided intermediate holes H H, which also converge toward the center, but at a much less angle of inclination than the central holes G and G and also incline forwardly at their inner ends and extend slightly above the line of the top of the tunnel when completed. Along each rib oi the tunnel are provided also forwardly-inclined drill-holcs l I and extended usually about one foot above the roof of the tunnel when completed. All of said holes are arranged a distance apart longitudinally of the tunnel, dependent on the nature of the rock, usually about nine feet in limc-rock or. sandstone.

In blasting the first two holes G G are first simultaneously shot, and owing to the inclination of said holes the lar e central mass is thrown down from the roof. The intermediate holes II and H are next shot, simulta neously breakin away the intermediate portions of the roof to the top of the tunnel, and this is followed by the shots in'the holes I and I, which break the material out above the roof-line, as shown in Fig. 3. The mass of material thus thrown down at one round of charges is very great, and the muck-heap thus formed extends nearly to the top of the tunnel, and being shattered by the ex losion and the fall can be rapidly remove by a steam-shovel Y Y, suitably constructed for the )urpose.

T e operation is as follows: This muchheap, extending to near the roof, afl'ords adequate protection for the shovel-operators and pit-men at all succeeding blasts and enables the shovel to be continuously operated at the muck-heap independent-of either the drilling or the blasting within the tunnel, and the same is true at the opposite end of the tunnel,

each muckheap y y affording a shield to the operators at the shovel during blasting.

Furthermore, as the heading extends the entire length of the tunnel a natural draft of air is afforded therethrough independent of the forced draft ordinarily provided in such cases, and inconsequence thesmoke of the blast curls upwardly over the muck-hea at each end and escapes from the tunne ingalong the roof and does not reach the shoveloperators at all. Furthermore, as but a ver small amount of theex losive is requirm gravity doin much of t e work ordinarily done by the last, but little smoke or gas as compared with bench-tunneling is formed. Owing to the heading being opened at each end, the drillers at each end thereof work independently ofthe conditions at the other end of the tunnel, and the drillin r continues independently and well ahead 0 V the blasting. The crew at each end of the tunnel, al-

though at all times able to communicate freely through the heading, work independently of each other, and the individual crews at each end perform their work continuously WithOllll reference to the work of the other crewat' the same end of the tunnel. Thus none of the time of themen is wasted, thou h heretofore at least half ofthe time of each thermore', there is much lessdang'er to the operators than by other methods, as no crew can endanger another, though a given work be accomplished inle'ss time and at a mere fraction oigthe expense heretofore deemed necessary for constructions of this nature.

While I have described my method with reference to certain arrangements of drillholes, it is to be understood that the number and arrangement of these drill-holes may be varied to suit the conditions presen'tas, for

, instance, cracks or fractures in the rock may render some holes unnecessary, and of course at times several lines of holes may be shot s1multaneouslyas, for instance, the ribholes and the roof-holes in forming the heading. It is, of course, to be understood-that the conditions present must determine the number and within reasonble limits arran ement and position and the amount of t e charges and the order in which the same should be dischar ed or shot; but I do not purpose limiting -t s application for patent otherwise than necessitated by theprior art,"-

as obviously there are many details capableof I variation without departing from the principles of my invention. I claim as my invention I 1. Themethod of excavating rock tunnels comprising first ctnstructing an under heading for the length of the tunnel and then throwing down the 'materi al from the roof of. said tunnel, into said heading and operatingsimub comprising first constructing anunder heading aving its bottom slightly below'grade for the length of the tunnel and then throwing down the material from the roof of said.

of the width and length of the proposed tunnel and of a height convenient for the opera tionQof the workmen then casting down the material from the top of the tunnel to the roof-line and removing the same by means of steam-shovels. v

ends of the tunnel and throwing down into the heading by successive shots the supers of the tunnel 4Q The method of constructing rockturn, nels embracing first constructing a heading of the width and length of the proposed tunnel and of a height convenient for-the operation of the workmen and having its bottom slightly below grade, then casting down the lmaterial to the roof-line from the top of the tunnel and removing the same by meansof steam-shovels. v

5. The method of constructing-rock tunnels, embracing first constructing a heading for the entire length and width of the tunnel and of a height convenient for the operation of workmen then operating, from one or both posed materialto the roof-line and forminga muck-pile and utilizingthe muck-pile thus formed as a guard for the muck-men, thereby, enabling them to work continuously and independent of the operation of drilling and blasting crews.

6. The method of constructing rock tun-- nels, embracing first the constructing of a heading of. the desiredwidth and the length of '90 the tunnel and with its bottom slightly below grade-line, then drilling the superposed mate'- rial approximatelyin one'plane transversely with the drill-holes inclined forwardly, at the top and the centraldrill-holes converging in weirdly, then. shooting the blast-to throw the material forwardly and downwardly forming a muck-pile thus affordin muck-men and shovels uring successive shots and whereby the drillers at all times are unimpeded by the accumulation of-muck; 7 The method ofconstructing rock tunnels consisting in first blasting a heading open at both ends and having the bottom thereof sightly below grade and wherein successive shots are arranged to throw the material outwardly affording clean or true rib-walls and roof, next beginning at each end @0 5 said heading at the extremities of the tunnel-and drilling the superposed rock to slightly above the roof-line, said holes inclining forwardly a shield'for the and the central holes converging at their inner ends and then blasting and removing the superposed rock. taneously at either or both ends :of the tunnel. 8.

2. The method of excavating rock tunnels he method of constructing rock tun nels comprising first constructing an--under heading open at both ends, then throwing down theremainder to the roof-line thereby forming a muck-pile and utilizing the muckdiate holes also conver ing inwardl ribholesin lineand paralle with the ri s and dry roof-holes and shooting the same, the central holes first then the intermediate next the rib, then the roof-holes and later after completing the heading for the entire length blasting down to the tunnel-roof line in successive char es each charge including all material from t e heading to the tunnel-roof.

10. The method of constructing rock tunnels comprising first constructing an under heading the length and width of the tunnel, then drilling the roof from the headin to slightly above the tunnel-roof line to afiord central converging holes, intermediate holes of less convergence extending above the roof and non-converging ribholes, all of said holes inclining forwardly at their tops and a distance from the front of the mass dependent on the nature of the rock, shooting said holes in the order before named, and removing the muck by means of steam-shovels.

11. The method of constructing tunnels comprisin constructing an under heading on a level wit the bottom of the tunnel, drilling a plurality of forwardly and inwardly inclined holes in the superposed material and shooting the charge in said holes thereby "throwing the material down to form a muckpile between the drillers and the mouth of the tunnel.

12. The method ofconstructing tunnels comprising forming an under head for the drillers then throwing down the superposed material and forming a muck-pile between the drillers and the muck-men.

13. The method of constructing tunnels comprising forming an under heading drilling the superposed rock from the mouth of the tunnel. inwardly then blasting to throw down the superposed material between the drillers and the mouth of the tunnel and forwardly of the muck-men.

14. The method of tunneling comprising forming an under heading for the drillers, and blasting down the superposed rock to form a muck-pile between the drillers and the muchmen.

15. The method of tunneling through rock com rising first forming an under heading inwar ly to air and approximately the width of the tunnel and to bottom grade then utilizing gravity by drilling the super osed material to cast the same down an forwardly in blasting, thereby cono'mizing in labor and ex losives.

n testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my 'name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses,

PATRICK FORD. 

